The Age of "facebook"

Life has been good to me the last few years. I have persued music over art and am having a fun interactive experience with students and festival goers as I make friends of all ages and abilities. Facebook has overshadowed the blogs and emails in my life, and I do miss them. I hope to rekindle this love of words and hope that it will ease my frustration in the "status word limit" of facebook.

Sunday School Project

I help teach a "one room" Sunday School. The students range in age three to age eleven.

This year, for the Easter Season, we made charm bracelets as a type of Resurrection Egg activity. The children were read the Easter story and then given pieces of Sculpey clay to form the charms. We did this over two weeks, but would recommend four. They formed a wrap or coat that was used to place on the donkey for Jesus, a loaf of bread, a prayer Bible, a cross, a piece of linen, a stone, an angel (not yet on the bracelet shown), and a scroll. A piece of plastic palm was also added to the collection. After baking the clay, they were painted and hand made jump rings were strung along with the beads to make the colorful bracelets. This was a fun project to do, and now the children can share the Easter story with others, too.

Finished Projects

I finished two of the towels and they are up on Etsy. The cat has been spoken for...thanks dd. I now need something new to work on. Back to the dolls...

Sneak Peek

stitch...stitch...stitch...
I needed a break, so I thought I'd give a sneak peek into what I'm working on today.

Yes, It's a Rubber Chicken

I just love the fabric pencils that wash out. I can draw, embroider, launder, and iron any design I come up with. You may ask, "Why rubber chickens?" Well, if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand...

A New Journey that Honours Tradition

Velkommen!
Hailsin!
Wowahwa!
Welcome.
Peace to you.

Today is about Grandma's influence on the journey I am taking in sharing the creating of dolls, embroidered tea towels and other adventures in the arts.

Grandma knew how important a good tea towel was. She used them to strain, to tie babies into chairs to feed them, as an apron, as a mop, as a dustcloth, to wipe faces and hands, as a quick fix diaper, to protect her hair from cobwebs, and even to dry dishes. They also served a decorative purpose and a creative outlet, when embroidered.

Grandma also knew the importance of dolls. Dolls can provide comfort, inspiration, and be a constant companion in a changing world. They can also express a person's personality and soul qualities.

Mail was a lifeline for her. She made a point to remember everyone she knew with a birthday card. She kept contact with her many friends, children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren by letter as they spread their wings across the country and beyond.

In my eyes, Grandma was a forward thinking, comical, loving, stubborn, rag-time woman. Her love of children was always evident. If she were alive today, I believe she would be thrilled with the technology that connects people that may have never known each other in an earlier day. I hope that she would be proud that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren remember her traditions and are esteemed to keep them alive and new.

Today I am celebrating her influence in the choices I am making that bring joy with tradition into my life. Today is the beginning of a new adventurous journey with cherished memories of my grandma to guide me.

Mange takk, Gammlemor!
(Many thanks, Grandma!)

Canoni